Introduction to my forthcoming book “True Humanship” There has been a lot written over recent years about horse whispering and natural horsemanship to form a very popular and ever growing wave of awareness about a better way of dealing with horses, which is all very nice and is putting the horseman back into the horsemanship equation. However the human side of the horse-human-relationship is mentioned but not explored to any great depth. Sure, there is a lot written about what to do and when to do it and how to do it, all very definitely from the physical perspective. What about what is going on within us at an emotional, mental and spiritual level; what effect does that have on the outcome in forming a relationship with our horses? When we explore the relationship we have with our horse, how does that reflect the relationship we are having with ourselves and others we are in contact with?
This book will explore not the, what we have to do to be a horseman, rather the, what we have to become to be a horseman. In so becoming a horseman, the effects it will have on all areas of our life. We have to integrate this state of being into our everyday life. The more and better we live this state of being, the better our horsemanship becomes and then with that the better life becomes.
When it comes to horse whispering a lot of people think of as this as magical and mystical, when in reality it is just about horse listening, with the horse speaking to us in the whispers of their silent language. With letting some of our human baggage go, anyone can tune into this language of nature. The secret is letting go, readjusting our life filters so as to quiet our head chatter so as to listen, hear and to feel the messages.
As for natural horsemanship, from the human perspective there is definitely nothing natural in the way we think, behave and live in today’s society that would lead us to believe we are being or can be natural around our horses or with each other. There is also nothing natural about putting a bit in a horse’s mouth or for that matter sitting on his back. Even the way we keep our horses, in most cases, is very removed from the natural. In a sense, this would be more like unnatural horsemanship.
As I sit here in front of the keyboard to write this, I find this is so far removed from my daily reality of life and living. What I do, see and feel is so everyday to me, that the words to explain it all are so distant and unheard, and therein lies a difficulty; To communicate something that is so simple and yet so unexplainable in words. My philosophy has always been to keep things simple, by using everyday examples and creating metaphors and analogies to allow the application of these into day to day living.
This is definitely not written as a horsemanship manual, however if you are a horseman you are sure to get something from this work. This is about the relationships that are formed between man and horse in particular, man and all of nature in general, including our fellow man. There are so many levels and facets to the relationships and the communication with all of life. To find the answers as to where we (the human race) have come from and where we are headed are all around us in the nature, it just is a matter of locating the understanding. The natural world is always finding a way to balance itself, to find the harmony that exists in spite of what the inhabitants of that world do.
There are a lot of questions that continually confront me as everyday I travel through life, meeting with people, dealing with horses and living in the everyday world. Who has got it right? Where are we headed? Why do we (the human species) keep doing the same things over and over, still with the expectation of a different result? How long can we keep doing what we are doing?
Along this journey, each day that I share a little of myself with others, from all around the globe, I find that we are not all that different. The ways in which we behave, we react and respond to each other and the world is very identifiable to the average person. We all have a huge potential and yet we are seduced by the trappings of modern living, which in the name of easier living, convenience and a comfortable lifestyle, isolates us from the real world, and the reality of life. As countries become more and more urbanised, the cities get bigger; we are insulating ourselves from what is real.
I have great deal of difficulty with the elitist society we live in where every circle of activity, knowledge, skill, profession and culture has a barrier for the entry to such a circle. Whether the language used sets this barrier or the paradigm, the amount of money we have, where we live, our gender, the founding religious beliefs or the rituals preformed. These form a separation of the everyman from each other and not a bringing together of the people. The horse world is not exempt from this state of being.
When is enough, enough? When will enough be enough? The more I look at these questions, the more I find myself looking to the horse and to nature in an attempt to find the answers. Nature has all the answers and holds the key to our future survival and what form that will take. With looking for the answers comes the hardest piece of all, to look inside of myself, to find out who I am and my place within this world I have had a hand in creating.
Through the course of this book, I will attempt to illuminate the three different levels on which horses and we relate to each other. These areas being:
The physical, the direct physical body language, the verbal, our actions and the devices we use to counter our shortcomings in this area.
The mental plane where our thoughts, attitudes, egos, emotions all have an effect on the outcomes with our horse.
The spiritual plane where the belief that there is a force bigger than we are and that we (all that is around us) are all connected.
I believe horses are here to show us a better way. They are a go between, between the unspoken word of a power greater than human kind and us.
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